Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A New Request

Sergeant Nate Foersch has identified some specific needs for his unit and himself:

-Reading material, of course-Magazines-Snacks of all types-Letters

As for reading material, I suggest good books. Few of us want to read about "What went wrong in Iraq" while we're sitting IN Iraq. Classics are great, as are paperbacks, and almost anything else. Somebody, somewhere, will probably enjoy it, no matter what it is.

Magazines: Marines' (males) favorite magazines are such publications as Maxim, Stuff, Mens' Fitness, Soldier of Fortune, a few titles I will not mention, and any variety of gun catalogs, which we refer to as "gun porn." But as with the books, send it anyway. More likely than not somebody will enjoy it.

Snacks: crackers, cookies, brownies (you can make them if you want!), pop tarts, rice Crispy treats, granola bars (Sunbelt is one of the best brands), chewing gum (sugar free), individual powered drink mixes (Gatorade, lemonade, Propel, Powerade, etc), and just about anything you can think up. Marines often don't have time to eat full means in a chow hall, so snacks are increasingly essential.

Letters: something nice.

If anybody has any further questions on specific items being a good idea or a bad one, please e-mail me or comment on this post and I will respond as quickly as possible. (e-mail is byshaw@gmail.com)

Sgt Foersch's address is as follows (his list ALSO applies to Sgt Paul VanSant, so please purchase/pack/ship accordingly). His address is also posted below.

About Ben Shaw

Freelance Writer & Photojournalist, native of Virginia, USA, graduate of Virginia Tech, former Infantry Marine (3 tours in Iraq), and spent several months of 2009 in Iraq as an embedded journalist. Shaw also completed an embed tour in Afghanistan in early 2010. Shaw continues to pursue veteran advocacy both personally and professionally, and currently works for the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program as a Veteran Peer Specialist. Online at http://www.byshaw.com, photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/byshaw